Every spring, nearly 1,700 Cherry Blossom trees lining Washington DC’s Tidal Basin burst into color in a beautiful display of floral fireworks. But the peak bloom period lasts only a few days, and precisely when it happens varies each year. This site brings together information about visiting the cherry blossoms and Washington DC, peak bloom forecasts, and up-to-date photos so that you can plan your own visit or follow along from afar.

Like much of the northeast, DC is getting a good dose of winter this past week with snow and bitterly cold weather. The cherry trees are weathering this cold snap just fine. The buds are still in their early stages and well protected.

The short answer is that there’s no easy answer. On average, the peak bloom occurs sometime around the last week or so of March through the first week or so of April. But precisely when during that period varies year to year. So here’s the longer version.

More in Washington DC

At the heart of the Iwo Jima Memorial (or the Marine Corps War Memorial) is a massive bronze statue based on an iconic World War II photo of the Marines planting the flag at Iwo Jima. The Memorial is next to Arlington National Cemetery on a hill overlooking the National Mall.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC houses one of the finest collections of paintings and sculptures in the world. On permanent display are works by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Raphael, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya, Manet, Monet, Rodin, Degas, and many, many more.

The Lincoln Memorial is one of the grandest and most distinctive of Washington’s monuments. Anchoring the western end of the National Mall and framed by the Reflecting Pool, it’s an outsized tribute to an American president who played an outsized role in America’s history: Abraham Lincoln.

Each spring, Washington’s famous cherry blossoms burst into white and pink bloom. But the date shifts each year depending on natural environmental factors. Here’s the latest information on the 2013 blooming of the cherry blossoms.

For what is really just a big, stone tower you’d expect the Washington Monument to be a boring thing to take photos of. But this isn’t just any old tower and happens to be near some of the world’s great landmarks, making for a bunch of ways and vantage points to get some interesting shots.

Sitting across the street from the US Capitol Building, the Supreme Court houses the judicial branch of the United States federal government. It’s in an appropriately grand building built in the mid-1930s and fronted by imposing classical marble columns.

Originally opened in 1923 to display the collections of Charles Lang Freer, the Freer Gallery has since been merged with the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the National Museum of Asian Art for the United States of America.